Stephen Larsen

1. EMINENT DOMAIN for RDAs (if it is reinstated, and I am elected):

I highly value the right to property and abhor the use of eminent domain. I also value our right to live, and abhor the shedding of blood. In extreme circumstances I would condone the shedding of blood, and in extreme circumstances, I would condone and even support the use of eminent domain.

I have done considerable research on the subject and have found it to be very confusing. Among many others, this site www.goodjobsfirst.org/pdf/straying.pdf is interesting. Congress had some conditions under which it is to be used for economic development and therefore legal. Congress has defined some circumstances under which it could be used. The US Supreme Court agreed and sustained the right recently. Each state redefined the criteria and most states included existing conditions of blight. None of the criteria and definitions were clear or in harmony with each other, so I am forced to determine my own criteria under which I would vote in favor of the use of eminent domain, if I am elected, and if it again becomes legal in Utah.

Here then are my criteria:

A. There must be an overriding public need: Ogden currently qualifies under this criteria because:
(1) Ogden has only 34% of the sales tax revenue of surround cities, per resident, compared to surrounding cities, and is loosing sales tax producing businesses continually. Two recent examples are Hastings and JoAnns Fabrics at 2nd street.
(2) Ogden has an aging infrastructure needing $120 million dollars in capitol improvements. Ogden cannot fund 4% of that figure, and it grows. If we do not succeed in developing economically we will literally decay in place.

B. There must be no alternative site suitable for the enterprise. WalMart needs 20 acres, there are no viable alternative sites. A new bookstore may have many alternative sites, I would not vote to use eminent domain for them.

C. It must provide a substantial increase in tax revenue. Most businesses would not qualify here. When we lost Sam’s club, we lost a million dollars a year to Riverdale. Sam’s club would qualify for my vote. A riding stable probably would not.

D. It must provide jobs for Ogdenites. I would not vote to condemn property to build apartment buildings, because they will not provide jobs. This is the only area in which I would qualify my position based upon blight.

E. The development planned must serve the needs of a broad spectrum of the public. A Cadillac Dealership would not qualify for my vote, because so few people can afford a Cadillac.

There you have it, five criteria under which I would vote for the use of eminent domain. I did not include criteria of “blight”, because some of the criteria I researched included the absence of sidewalks, and I think that if the city did not provide sidewalks, the property owner should not be penalized. Some included the existence of bars. I do not believe the existence of a bar, licensed by the city, should be a criterion for condemning the house of a nearby property owner. I would use judgment, and you now have some idea as to what I consider good judgment, even if you do not know how I would vote in every instance.

2. What do you consider the main issues in Ogden, and how do you propose to deal with them?

A) TAX REVENUE SHORTAGE: We must solve the problems of our deferred maintenance, and upgrade our support of police and fire protection. How? (1) by supporting most current economic development options and presenting a positive and welcoming face to the business world. (2) by valuing and encouraging our existing businesses. (3) by consolidating many new business assistance programs into a vital and proactive format for recruiting Ogdenites to start new business enterprises lightening the overhead burden by consolidating and creating support systems that will insure their success.

B) PUBLIC APATHY: There are even more avenues available to involve citizens in Ogden’s future. I have several plans for innovations that will involve Ogdenites in serving one another. This is not the time or place to say more than that. I’m interested in solving problems, not serving up “red meat”. But Ogden needs to be more personal in its approach to solving problems. I will expand neighborhood action programs.

C) HOPE: We need to have more fun being Ogdenites. We are at the dawn of a new day for Ogden. A new commuter rail service will connect us with Salt Lake international Airport and the rest of the Wasatch Front. Possibilities are unfolding in the ski industry, and we need to unfold equal new opportunities for Ogden’s aging, and less affluent society. We must not develop Ogden into anything that will marginalize the majority of Ogdenites, but that must mean progress for the majority too, not stopping all progress that does not include the majority.

D) TRANSPORTATION: I have a plan to provide economical transportation to get Ogdenites into the center of Ogden to shop and mingle and to be entertained and fed. If elected I will do it. I will surely do it.